The great thaw

The glacier has receded about 300 meters between 1975 and 2009, an expert says.[Photo by Satarupa Bhattacharjya/China Daily]

But all this could change in coming decades. The lowest-lying of China's 48,570 or so glaciers, Mingyong, has been in a state of retreat for long.

"The glacier has receded about 300 meters at the end and in height, respectively, from 1975 to 2009, which means it has overall shrunk from 12.64 square kilometers to 12.38 sq km," Liu Shiyin, a glaciologist from Yunnan University in Kunming, says in a written response to questions from the paper.

Twelve other glaciers to the east of Lancang River, which flows from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau through Yunnan to five countries (as Mekong), have thinned since 1968. The majority of China's glaciers are on the plateau. The country's total glacial area had shrunk to some 50, 000 sq km by 2010, an estimated 17 percent reduction, Liu says.